Deflections: Picking coaches: Part 1

Way back, in my early coaching days in house league, there was a
fellow about my age who couldn’t skate. He claimed he could walk/slither
on skates, but not well and certainly not safely. Playing hockey was
out of the question.

How Frank (not his real name) came to have a team was a mystery
to me. Maybe there were no other candidates. I don’t really know.

He ran practices wearing winter boots. He shuffled about the ice,
directed kids to do this and that, helped them with skills, and even
pointed out and corrected skating issues. He had one of those deep
strong voices, perfect for a cavernous rink. Frank also seemed to have a
decent rapport with kids and his teams did fairly well, too.

Aside from hockey chit-chat, we didn’t talk much so I can’t say I
knew him well. But just as an observer, I’d say Frank was an effective
coach.

Another example. I knew a guy who’d been a mediocre player at the
lowest level of competitive minor hockey. Judging by his comportment
around the game, I suspect Gary was a tough customer. Not too skilled,
but I wouldn’t have wanted to cross him on the ice. He was, however, one
of the best technical coaches I’ve ever seen. Completely self-taught
with an eye for the tiniest detail and a knack for how to fix problems,
he was also a strong communicator and innovator with his minor teams.
They had tremendous success at elite levels.

Gary successfully ran off-season programs and schools, partly
because of his drive and partly his organization skills. Above all else,
he considered himself a teacher of the game. Watching him play though
made you wonder how on earth he could be such a competent coach.

A third example. This chap, Doug, is in my own age category. He
never played hockey. Not a minute. Broomball? Yes. And he was a champion
at it. But hockey? Nope. His skating was (is) laboured, his
puckhandling erratic, his shooting out of sync.

But as a coach of elite minor and junior teams, he ranks high. A
brilliant observer of players’ habits, strengths, and weaknesses, he is
able to massage the best from his players, no matter the roadblocks in
front of him. He respects the game and the people in it. Kids know it
and respond. And if Doug were to read this, he’d shake his head in
embarrassment.

Though he never played the game—and he readily shares this with
his players—he tells them he is almost envious of their enormous gifts.
Then he pushes them to use those same gifts to think, react, work,
execute.

If Frank, Gary, and Doug had had to rely on playing resumes to
get through coaching interviews, what do you think would have happened

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